Understanding innovation in communication industries through alternative economic theories

Abstract

This article argues that communication scholars should collaborate with pluralist economists rather than traditional ones, as alternative economic theories are better suited to understanding the complex process of innovation in communication industries and to integration into multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks. In order to illustrate this point, first the main features of traditional economics that are incompatible with the study of the communication sector are outlined, then, a selection of theories and concepts from complexity economics, modularity and service innovation studies are presented. Moreover, as an illustration of the value of alternative economic theories in explaining change in the communication sector, these concepts are used to outline some of the most important changes and trends that have affected the music industry as a result of its digitization.